


Acheiving Flight

by xXHetaliaXAmericaXx



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (will explain why later on), Adventure, Allura is a Harpy Eagle, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avian Au, But that's gonna take awhile guys sorry, Coran is a Red-backed Sea-Eagle, Hunk is a Snow Owl, Hurt/Comfort, Keith acts like a dick at first but for a reason, Keith is a Red-shoulder Hawk, Lance is a Great Blue Heron, Learning to Fly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pidge is a barn owl, Pidge just wanted to find her brother and friends and ends up joining a war, Shiro is a white-tailed eagle, eventual action
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2018-12-01 10:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11484477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXHetaliaXAmericaXx/pseuds/xXHetaliaXAmericaXx
Summary: Pidge closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Okay…. here goes nothing.” She pushes herself off the branch and flares her wings out, trying to flap her wings and catch an airlift to keep herself afloat. For a split second she was airborne, the wind blowing her hair behind her and combing through her feathers, she felt free and esthetic, opening her eyes to smile at her brother. But before long she starts to fall, the smile disappearing from her face as she starts to fall towards the ground. She hears a scream, unsure if it was her brother or her own, and the last thing she sees before hitting the ground was her brother diving down to try to save her.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With the disappearance of her brother, and the search parties giving up hope, Pidge has to venture away from home to try to find her lost family.She didn't expect to make new friends, run into old ones, and learn how to fly.





	1. Don't Fall Out of the Nest

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys! Writing another VLD fic and this time its centered around Pidge. I'm writing this for my best friend who wanted more Pidge-centric fic to read so I decided to write this for her as a thanks for putting up with me for 9-almost 10 years (my where does the time go) 
> 
> This is my first time trying to write super emotional stuff, so if it seems rough/bad that's probably why (but you can't get better without practice and constructive criticism so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ )
> 
> Enjoy!

“C’mon, Pidge! Don’t be such a chicken!” Matt starts clucking, waving his arms at his sides as his wings flap silently behind them. He blows a raspberry at his sister, then starts clucking like a chicken, trying to jilt her into doing what he said.

 

Pidge frowns, holding onto the tree branch next to their balcony, her wings twitching a bit as she glances down at the ground. She shifts anxiously from foot to foot, rubbing her bare feet against the balcony railing. She tightens her hold on the tree branch, furrowing her brows more and breathing out a huff. “I’m not a chicken—and chickens are actually fearless, Y’know.”

 

Matt rolls his eyes, keeping himself eye level with Pidge and pushing himself further away from the balcony. “It’s just an expression. Now are you gonna jump or not? Shiro and Keith aren’t gonna wait forever. If you’re too chicken to fly you can just walk.”

 

“I’m not chicken!” She curtly replies, trying to smack her brother with her wing but he flew just out of reach, causing her to scowl. She looks down at the ground, her wings tucking close to her side, suddenly anxious about trying to fly.  She looks up at her older brother, voice softer than before. “Promise you won’t let me fall?”

 

Matt smiles softly and nods, holding his arms out towards Pidge. “Of course, lil’ Pidgeon. I promise.”

 

Pidge closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Okay…. here goes nothing.” She pushes herself off the branch and flares her wings out, trying to flap her wings and catch an airlift to keep herself afloat. For a split second she was airborne, the wind blowing her hair behind her and combing through her feathers, she felt free and esthetic, opening her eyes to smile at her brother. But before long she starts to fall, the smile disappearing from her face as she starts to fall towards the ground. She hears a scream, unsure if it was her brother or her own, and the last thing she sees before hitting the ground was her brother diving down to try to save her.

 

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

 

Pidge startles awake, gasping for breath as she sits up in bed, wings bristling and her heart racing. The barn owl reaches up and grips her nightshirt, taking slow, even breaths to try to calm herself down. It had been years since Pidge had that dream, recalling the first time she tried to fly. Her flight feathers hadn’t fully come in, but Matt insisted that with her size she didn’t have to wait until they fully came in to fly. In the back of her mind she knew better, but she was anxious to see her friends, and didn’t want to wait for her parents to get home to carry her over. She ended up breaking a wing and fracturing her wrist—considering she fell nearly 20 feet her injuries weren’t bad—but the fear of falling again gave her anxiety at the _idea_ of trying to fly again. Matt was apologetic afterwards, helping Pidge move around with her casts and getting her whatever she wanted. But that didn't help her conquer her fear of falling.

 

She stands up on wobbly legs, stretching out her limbs and wings to work out the stiffness in her shoulders, knowing she’d be unable to fall asleep any time soon. She glances over at the framed picture of her and her brother hanging on her wall, taken after Matt got accepted into Arus Aviation; the giant smile on both of their faces reminding Pidge of happier times. Dread and worry settled deep in her chest, folding her wings around herself for some form of comfort.

 

It was only supposed to be a scouting expedition.

 

He wasn't supposed to be gone for this long.

 

Grabbing the blanket off her bed, Pidge wraps herself up before walking out on her balcony, shivering as the crisp autumn air hits her face. She looks up at canopy, the moonlight peeking through the treetops more than usual with the leaves starting to fall.

 

Typically when she had a nightmare, her brother would tell her stupid jokes and help her with her projects to help calm down enough to sleep.

 

She wished he was here now.

 

Pidge curled up in one of the hammocks, absentmindedly cleaning her feathers of any kinks that she got during the few hours she slept, keeping her eyes on the sky in the hopes on spotting her brother.

 

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

 

Pidge was anxiously pacing back and forth on her balcony, waiting for any kind of news at this point. She was finding it hard to concentrate on anything, worried about her brother and friend that went missing a month ago. Matt and Shiro were selected as interns to accompany Arus Aviation to search for safer trade routes to avoid the battles of the ongoing war between the Alteans and the Galra. It was seven days after they left that communication with the exploration party was abruptly cut off. She could still remember the pain on her mother’s face at the news that her son was missing. Pidge rubs her sleep-heavy eyes as she looks up at the canopy again, hoping to see her brother pop up and claim that the whole ordeal was just some big, elaborate joke that everyone was in on.

 

She tilts her head slightly when she hears the sound of wings flapping to her left, turning towards the direction of the sound to see her childhood friend Keith flying towards her. The red-shoulder hawk lands on the balcony railing, ruffling his wings before folding them in against his side and jumping down to the deck. Pidge presses her lips together, her wings twitching at her side. “Heard anything?”

 

Keith sighs heavily, his wings sagging some as he shakes his head. “Nothing. Have you been able to hack their network yet?”

 

Pidge rubs her eyes as she walks into her room, tucking her wings in so she wouldn’t knock anything over. Keith follows inside, sitting on the edge of the desk as Pidge climbs into bed and grabs her laptop. “I did, but there’s some serious encryption on the file about the search.” She opens her laptop and pulls up the information she was able to get, then puts her hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. “All I’ve been able to pull is crew info and their last check-in.”

 

Keith’s eyebrow’s shoot up, pushing himself up and holding his arms out. “Pidge, with that we can go to their last check point and look for clues.”

 

She furrows her brows, glancing up at Keith and closing her laptop. “We could, but we don’t have any idea which direction they went or what happened. For all we know they got ambushed by Galra.”

 

“All the more reason for us to go find them!” Keith yells, wings bristling and a few feathers falling off.

 

“Careful!” She drives to steady the lamp, then uses her wing to push Keith’s out of the way before standing up. “You want to go get yourself killed? That’s what’s gonna happen if you run in head first with no information.” She pauses as her eyes land on the feathers that just fell off of Keith, picking up one of the tan feathers off the floor before looking at Keith. “You’re molting?”

 

Keith flushes, folding his wings tightly against him and taking a step back. “Don’t change the subject—“

 

Pidge groans, sliding a hand down her face before smacking Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, the _worst_ time to go on long flights is when you’re molting—what happens when your flight feathers fall out, huh?”

 

Keith fidgets a bit, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. “They’ll grow back.”

 

Pidge sighs, looking up at her childhood friend with hurt in her eyes. “I know you miss Shiro—I miss him too. But do you think that he’d be okay with you flying head-first into danger?” Keith sighs heavily and shakes his head. “Just wait for me to find some more info, okay?”

 

Keith chews on his bottom lip and looks away, avoiding eye contact with Pidge. She frowns, turning to try to make eye contact with Keith, needing to know her friend wouldn’t do anything rash without her. She opens her mouth to ask again when her mom calls for her downstairs. “Katie!”

 

Pidge sighs and narrows her eyes, pointing a finger at Keith as she heads towards her door. “This isn’t over.” Keith sighs and nods, all the affirmation that Pidge needs before she heads downstairs to see her mom.

 

Pidge’s mom, Colleen, was sitting in the living room, her brown and tan wins neatly folded against her back. Sitting on the couch across from her were too officers from the Garrison dressed in camouflage uniforms. Pidge pauses at the entry way, then takes a hesitant step towards her mom, keeping her eyes on the military officers as she speaks. “What is it mom?”

 

Colleen looks up at Pidge and forces a smile, hurt hiding in her eyes as she gazes up at her daughter. “These…. nice men are from the Garrison, they’re helping Arus Aviation with the search for Matt.”

 

Pidge narrows her eyes, taking another step towards her mom and flaring her wings out slightly behind her, not trusting the Garrison men in front of her and wanting to make her distrust apparent. “What can they do that AA can’t?”

 

“We have more men and resources,” One of the men comments, a broad-chested falcon with the name Iverson written on his uniform, “not to mention we know the region they disappeared better than Arus does.”

 

Pidge glares at Iverson, not trusting the Garrison to be of any help—they were known for being secretive as well as trigger happy. They were an over-funded military branch; how would they be able to help find her brother? “What are you gonna do, shoot up civilians until they start talking?”

 

“Watch your tone around the Commander.” The younger falcon next to Iverson growled, wings snapping open in an attempt to intimidate.

 

Iverson puts a hand on the falcon’s shoulder, shooting him a glare. “Stand down, Smith.” The falcon—Smith—slowly folds his wings back up and stands beside his commander, glaring at Pidge and causing her to smirk. He couldn’t even handle a little backtalk, though that was common among Garrison soldiers. Iverson holds his hands behind his back, his chest puffed out slightly as he addresses Colleen. “We just came to inform you of the change, Mrs. Holt. If you have any more questions you can address the Garrison directly.”

 

Colleen presses her mouth together and nods, standing up as well. Her wings folding out enough to tuck Pidge under her wing protectively. “Thank you, Commander. I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

Iverson tilts his hat towards her, flashing a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “We best be going now. You two have a good day.” He motions to Smith, then the pair head towards the front door and sees themselves out.

 

Colleen huffs, wrapping her arms around Pidge as her feathers bristle out. “Honestly, what was Arus thinking—letting the Garrison worm their way into the search. They’ll just use it as an excuse to get involved in the war.”

 

Pidge nods, tucking herself further into her mother’s embrace as she closes her eyes. The Garrison has been trying to declare war on the Galra for the last three years—trying to find any excuse possible. “They’ll probably try to blame the Galra for the exploration party going missing.”

 

Colleen sighs, running a hand through Pidge’s hair soothingly. “I wouldn’t put it past them. We better take what they say with a grain of salt.” 

 

Pidge nods again, slowly pulling out of her mom’s embrace. As much as she would like to wallow in her mom’s warm embrace, she needed to find her brother—plus Keith was still moping in her room. “I know. I’m gonna head back to my room. Keith swooped by earlier and he’s still upstairs.”

 

Colleen smiles softly and nods, brushing Pidge’s hair aside and planting a kiss on her forehead. “Alright little Pidgeon. Tell Keith he’s welcomed to stay as long as he wants, okay? I worry about the little hawk living on his own.”

 

Pidge nods, forcing a small smile before turning around and heading back to her room. Closing the door behind her, she breathes out a sigh and slumps against her door, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Well, that was unbearable but at least we have another lead.”

 

Keith perks up from the chair he was sitting in, his wings flittering a bit and his eyes widening. “Really? Who was it downstairs?”

 

Pidge smiles crookedly, throwing herself onto her bed and opening her laptop and starting to furiously type. “The Garrison—they’re ‘helping’ with the search—but we know they’re just going to use it as an excuse to fight the Galra.”

 

Keith furrows his brows and nods, moving over to sit next to Pidge and glances at the screen. “You going to hack their system to see what they know?”

 

Pidge smirks, bumping her wing against Keith’s as she tilts her head. “You know me too well, Kogane.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Keith ended up staying the night—despite his attempts to leave. When Colleen set her mind on something, it was hard to say no—it was where Pidge and Matt got their stubbornness from. Keith was oddly quiet during and after dinner. While he wasn’t usually talkative around her parents, he usually said more than one or two words at a time. Pidge tried to get Keith to talk more after they headed to the loft so she could work on her projects, but Keith seemed to be keeping his distance. She was starting to worry, afraid that Keith wasn’t telling her something. She looks up at her childhood friend, brows furrowed in thought as she tried to think of what it may be. Did it have to do with Shiro?

 

Shiro is Keith’s adoptive brother. Keith’s dad flew the coup when he was young, so Shiro took him under his wing. It wasn’t too long until Shiro became Keith’s legal guardian. With Keith’s father abandoning him, and his mother not in the picture, Shiro was the only family he had left. An ache started to spread through her chest at the thought. She at least had her mom and dad to lean against for support.

 

Keith didn’t have anyone.

 

Pidge looks up from the small robot she was working on, gazing at Keith as he whittles on a piece of wood out of boredom. She looks back down at her work, knowing that it would be better to talk to Keith without making eye contact. He got skittish whenever Pidge tried to ask about his feelings. “You holding up okay?” She speaks softly, twisting a bolt into place.

 

Keith’s knife stops for a second, then continues carving as he shrugs his shoulder. “’M fine.”

 

Pidge sighs, her wings drooping slightly as she reaches for a few wires to hook up to her robot. “Keith, I know you. You silently brood and bottle up your feelings until you explode.”

 

Keith tenses up, speaking through clenched teeth as his grip on his knife tightens, the sound of leather squeaking against the bone handle indicating what happened. “You do the same thing I do, so you have no room to talk.”

 

She looks up at Keith and glares, kicking his feet with her own, irritation crossing her face. “I’m trying to be a supportive friend, ass. I’m trying here. With Shiro and Matt gone, we’re all we got—we have to be there for each other.”

 

Keith visibly deflates at the mention of Shiro, folding his wings against his back as he slowly sinks to the floor to sit down next to Pidge. He hangs his head, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know. It’s just—It’s hard with them gone.”

 

Pidge sighs heavily and nods, then wraps a wing around Keith protectively as she hugs him close. “I know…” Keith hugs her back, his own wing wrapping around Pidge and surrounding the pair in feathers. For the first time since hearing the news, the grief Pidge tried to bury slipped out, her small shoulders shaking as a few tears slide down her face. “I can’t believe they’re gone.” Her voice cracks, throat tightening up as she starts to cry harder. Keith holds her tighter, not saying a word as Pidge breaks down in front of him. One of the things that Keith was good for was a shoulder to cry on—he never said a word, never brought it up after it was over, and his big, comfortable wings provided enough privacy. It was like her own private sanctuary where she was allowed to let her raw emotions out; the pain, the hurt, the worry, the sadness—she could let them out and not have to talk about it afterwards.

 

Pidge slowly calmed down, her tears drying up and her wings no longer shaking. She lets out a shaky break before pulling away and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. She looks up at Keith, meeting his understanding gray eyes and knowing they didn’t have to speak out loud to know how much they missed their brothers. Keith gently knocked his fist against Pidge’s shoulder, the corner of his lip twitching up into a melancholy smile. “C’mon, we better head to bed before your mom makes us.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was only a few hours after Pidge managed to fall asleep that she awoke to the sound of a door closing. She props herself up and rubs the sleep out of her eyes, looking over to the spare bed Keith had pulled into her room to sleep on that night. When she sees the bed empty and the sheets crumpled, she quickly looks around the room, wondering where the hawk could be at this hour. Pidge slips out from under the covers and listens for a minute, hearing faint, quiet noises coming from her balcony. Her eyes widen, realizing that Keith was doing the _stupidest_ thing he’s ever done—leaving to search for Shiro by himself. She runs to the balcony doors, flinging them open just in time to see Keith hop onto the railing and spread out his wings. “Keith Kogane! Don’t you _dare_ take off!” Pidge yells, wings raising up as she runs over and grabs his leg.

 

Keith tenses up, turning around to stare at Pidge with wide eyes. His wings twitching as he tries to shake off her grip on his leg. “Why? It’s not like I have any reason to stay.”

 

Pidge tenses, a sharp pain in her chest as her wings start to droop. She furrows her brows, trying to hide her hurt behind a scowl. “Oh, so I’m not a good enough reason to stay. Doesn’t our friendship mean anything?”

 

Keith winces, closing his eyes and sighing as he tucks his wings against his back, whispering softly. “Pidge—I didn’t—you know—I didn’t mean it like that.”

 

“Look, I know you care about Shiro and miss him, I miss him too.” She sighs heavily, dropping her angry front and letting go of Keith’s leg. “You’re not the only one hurting right now. Running away isn’t going to help.”

 

Keith frowns, crossing his arms defensively and wings raising slightly. “I’m not running away. I’m going to find Shiro.” He curtly replies, turning around to shoot a glare at Pidge.

 

Pidge furrows her brows, glaring at Keith and throwing her hands up. “You’re sneaking off in the middle of the night. How is that not running away?” Keith opens his mouth to reply, then closes his mouth and crosses his arms over his chest defensively, knowing Pidge was right. She sighs heavily, looking up at her friend and tugging at his pantleg. “You don’t have to go alone. We can go look for Shiro and Matt together. Just let me pack a few things—“

 

“You can’t come with me.” Keith frowns, turning away and curling his wings around himself, hiding his face from view.

 

She frowns, huffing as she puts her hands on her hips. “Why?”

 

Keith turns away, his voice turning cold as he answers. “I don’t need a flightless bird slowing me down. Just stay home.”

 

Pidge inhales sharply, tensing up and wings rippling. She takes a step back, eyes wide as she stares at the red-shoulder hawk’s back. “Keith…” Her voice cracks, she closes her mouth, taking a minute to compose herself before speaking again. “You don’t mean that.”

 

“Yeah. I do. I can cover more territory airborne than if I have to carry you or travel by foot.” He curtly replies, pressing his lips together and wings twitching.

 

Pidge grips the edge of her shirt, eyes starting to water as hurt and anger spreads through her veins. She turns away, fists shaking and staring at the floor through watery eyes. “Just go then. See if I care.”

 

She fells a gust of wind as Keith opens his wings. He pauses, glancing over his shoulder at his childhood friend before looking up at the sky, whispering softly and letting his words carry on the wind. “I’m sorry.” Before Pidge could reply, Keith took off, jumping off the railing and flapping his wings, flying away in the dark of the night. Pidge curls in on herself, wrapping her wings around her as she collapses on the wooden floor. In the course of a month she’s lost three of the most important people in her life. For the second time that day, Pidge broke down and cried, giving into the pain as tears fell from her eyes. She felt like she was falling down into a pit of despair, the floor crumbling below her and plummeting towards the ground.

 

Except no one was there to catch her this time.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed out on the balcony, but it was long enough for the sun to rise and her dog to come find her. Gunther lets out a little boof, ducking underneath Pidge’s wings and brushing against her feathers as he stands next to her. Without looking down Pidge starts to scratch behind his ear, appreciating her dog coming to comfort her. She knew that Arus would give up the search soon, too low on resources to waste on one exploration party. It would probably be even sooner since the Garrison got involved—AA leaving the Garrison as the only group searching for the missing Avians. Pidge sighs and looks down at Gunther, cupping his face in her hands. “Do you know where Matt is?”

 

Gunter barks, standing up and pushing Pidge with his nose. She tilts her head, raising an eyebrow quizzically. “What?” He nudges her a little harder, then goes over to the balcony and barks, scratching at the railing before looking back at Pidge.

 

Pidge sighs, standing up and stretching her arms and wings, then walks over to the railing and looks up at the sky. “Matt’s gone—he’s not gonna be flying in anytime soon.” Gunther whines, then stands on his hind legs and scratches the balcony again. Pidge rests her cheek in her hand as she looks down at Gunther, reaching down to pet his head. “I know. I miss him too. And now Keith’s gone.” She exhales slowly, letting her eyes scan the tree tops as she lets her mind wander. She knew that Keith would probably get himself injured—or worse, killed—with the little information he had and his lack of resources. The only thing he left with was his knife, jacket, and a map with Shiro and Matt’s last known location circled. Pidge could probably find Matt and Shiro all by herself—give her a laptop, a knife, and a few pieces of scrap metal and wires and she’d be all set.

 

She frowns, her wings twitching a bit as she kneels by Gunther. “You think I should go find him?” Gunther barks again, leaning forward and licking Pidge’s cheek. Pidge cracks a small smile, scratching behind Gunther’s ear again. “Well, I can’t go find Matt and Shiro if I’m moping here.” She stands up and quickly walks through her room and heads to her workshop, making a list in her head of what she needed for her journey.

 

She was going to get her brother and friends back.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It might have taken a few days and sleepless nights, but Pidge was finally ready to leave. She had managed to gather a two-week supply of shelf-stable food, a digital map (and a paper map, just in case), and built herself a hot air balloon to travel in (while it hurt when Keith said she’d slow him down, he was right about traveling on foot taking longer). When she wasn’t preparing for her trip, she was hacking into the Garrison database, looking for any new information and clues about what happened to her brother and friend. Pidge hasn’t found much—unless you count the suspicious lack of information. She had tried breaking into the Garrison itself, but before she could find anything helpful she was caught and banned from the property.

 

All she had to do was pick a night to leave.

 

It had to be at a time where her parents were out—if they were home, they’d surely try to stop her. Pidge just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity.

 

Fortunately for her, her opportunity came sooner rather than later. Her parents had to go to a conference, leaving her alone for the evening. Pidge waited an hour after they left to make sure that they wouldn’t come back early before gathering her things to leave. She grabbed her backpack with her clothes and food, opening it to check one last time to make sure she had everything she needed. Pidge hums in thought, furrowing her brows as she decides to make one last quick round for anything else she might need. She folds her wings against her back and climbs up the loft to her workshop, looking around for any tools she might need up there. She spots the robot that she was working on, deciding to grab it so that she’d have something to work on. Since she’d be working on the robot she made sure to grab her travel tool kit and a few wires before climbing back down and putting the items into the giant backpack she had.

 

Then she did one more sweep of her bedroom, grabbing her laptop, a solar-powered energy pack, and any chargers she would need. Pidge sighs, tying up her hair to keep it out of the way as she sweeps her eyes around her room one last time. Her eyes land on the picture of her and her brother, a pang in her chest as she gazes at the face so similar to her own. She grabs the picture, removing it from the frame and shoves it in her bag without thinking, then grabs her journal as well before closing her bag and stepping out onto her balcony.

 

Pidge stretches out her wings quickly, then folds them flat against her back as she fills the balloon with hot air, then attaches the basket with thick metal cables. Once the balloon was floating, she tied the basket to the balcony railing as she loads up her gear. Once she was done loading she jumps into the basket, looking back towards her house as she grips the edge of the basket. Pidge was a giant ball of anxiety and nerves—nervous about leaving home for the first time by herself—nervous about what she’ll find in her search for her brother—anxious about her friends so far away from home. She closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath, determined to find her family, with or without help.

 

She unties her basket, then pulls the lever to add more heat to the balloon, causing it to lift further in the sky. She smiles, albeit sadly, as she raises further into the sky, up above the treetops. Once she was high enough she turns on the motorized fan, steering towards the last known location of Matt and Shiro.

 

She was going to find her family.  


	2. Avoid Cliffs and Canyons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If she wanted to be able to continue her search uninterrupted, she’d have to change her appearance—including her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, totally meant to get this out wayyyyyyyyyy earlier--but sometimes life just gets in the way. 
> 
> Apologies for the long wait and other (most likely) long waits between updates.
> 
> (also if the quality of this chapter seems lower than usual-I've rewritten it like three times already and don't think I'll ever be completely satisfied--promise the next chapter will be better)

Pidge didn’t stop until the sun was over the horizon and she was miles away from home. Her eyes stung from the cold air rushing by, but she didn’t dare close her eyes for long in fear of veering off course. She kept her eyes on the horizon, occasionally glancing down at the map and compass she was using as a guide. Circled on the map was the last known location of the missing exploration party, about five days flight from her village. Pidge frowns at the map, knowing she would run out of leads sooner or later. _It wouldn’t hurt to stop and ask if anyone knows anything._ The exploration party stopped at lots of cities and towns along their journey—it wouldn’t be too farfetched for someone to remember the group passing through. Inspecting the map, she tries to find the closest city to her location to stop at, finding a small town named Krell. Deciding it was as good a town as any to stop in, she starts steering herself towards Krell, wondering how different it would be from her home town.

 

She casts a quick glance in the direction she just flew from, a crestfallen expression crossing her face as she thinks of her parents that she left behind. They were probably up by now, wondering where she was and calling for her. Her heart aches, not wanting to make her parents hurt more than they already were. They had already lost one child—Pidge was all that they had left. A shred of doubt crosses her mind, wondering if she was making the right decision by leaving. Was the pain she was causing her parents worth it? She looks at the picture of her and Matt, knowing that she couldn’t leave her brother and friends stranded alone near Galra territory.

 

It didn’t matter if what she was doing was right or wrong—as long as she found her family.

 

Once she approached the outskirts of Krell, Pidge releases the air from the hot air balloon until she lands in a clearing. She hops out of the basket, grabbing her bag and turning on the cloaking device to turn the hot air balloon invisible. She circles the balloon a few times, looking for any holes or malfunctions in the invisibility field before heading into town.

 

Pidge lets her eyes wander along the path, easily spotting Krell from a hundred or so yards away. There was a small variety of Avians—a few Blue Jays and Cardinals, but the majority were Sparrows. She makes her way into the village, looking around for the market, knowing that would be the best place to start her search for information. She eventually finds the main street, where a few vendors were selling fresh produce, clothes, and other sort of knickknacks.

 

She lets her eyes drift among the vendors, spotting one that had Altean and Galra style clothing and jewelry at their booth. _Perfect._ She weaves her way through the crowd, approaching the vendor and popping up right next to the Sparrow. “Woah, is this actual Altean jewelry?”

 

The sparrow smiles, neatly folding her wings against her back. “Yes, it is—I have a dealer just over the border I import them from.”

 

Pidge hums, reaching over and feeling one of the green and white shirts, trying to figure out how best to ask about the Altea/Galra border. “You got a bunch of Galra stuff too. How’d you get that?”

 

The sparrow stiffens a bit, a forced smile on her face. “I have a dealer there too.”

 

Pidge hums again, then looks up at the sparrow and smiles innocently. “That’s cool—you ever been to Altea or Galra territory?”

 

The sparrow was about to open her mouth to reply, when two police officers started to walk by, hanging up flyers and passing them out. The sparrow takes a flyer, quickly looking from the flyer towards Pidge, her eyes widen in recognition. Pidge frowns slightly, leaning over to peek at what was on the flyer. Her eyes widen at the sight of her picture, the words ‘missing child’ in red at the top.

 

_That’s not good._

 

Pidge takes off right before the sparrow could grab her, but apparently the merchant was determined to be a good citizen. “Police! There she is!”

 

The officers turn around, spotting Pidge and starting to run after her. She groans, tucking her wings tight to her back and quickly ducking through the crowds. She just started her journey—she couldn’t get captured now and taken home.

 

_Matt’s still out there._

 

Pidge managed to duck into an alley way, hiding behind a dumpster as the cops ran by. She sighs heavily once they pass, then slips out of the alley and out of the city, making her way towards her hidden hot air balloon. She groans, pinching the bridge of her nose as dread settles in her gut. She knew her parents wouldn’t be happy about her leaving, but to send out a missing child report? _It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours; how did they manage to get one out so fast?_ _How am I going to search for Matt_ and _avoid getting sent back home?_

 

She makes it back to her hot air balloon, turning off the cloaking device and starting the process of inflating the balloon. Her hair falls into her face and she breathes out a huff, looking at the hair falling over her shoulders and frowning. If she wanted to be able to continue her search uninterrupted, she’d have to change her appearance—including her hair.

 

She takes out the switch blade Keith gave her for her last birthday, grabbing a chunk of her hair in her other hand. She takes a deep breath, then in one quick motion chops off a chunk of her hair, letting the strands fall. She looks down at the hair as it fell to the ground, her lips pursed into a straight line.

 

_Looks like I won’t be braiding my hair for a while._

 

Pidge continues crudely cutting her hair until she had short, choppy, slightly uneven hair. She grabs a change of clothes, knowing that clothing descriptions were typically given in missing children reports. She finishes prepping her balloon for flight, catching her reflection in the side of the polished fan. At first glance, she would have sworn she looked exactly like Matt. But the longer she looked, the subtler differences she noticed; her slightly shorter nose, her softer jawline, and her rounder cheeks. She frowns, thinking that she still looked too much like herself for her liking. If she wanted to make sure she wasn’t recognized, she had to change her appearance more.

 

 She goes to rummage around her bag for something else to add to her disguise, not finding anything useful until she got to the inside pocket. Her hands close around something round and metal, her brows furrowing as she pulls out the mysterious item—Matt’s old pair of glasses.

 

Her breath hitches, caught off guard by the sight of Matt’s glasses—the ones he complained so much about when he had to get them—saying that it was unfair that he got bad eyesight despite being an owl. She holds the glasses up to her face, frowning when everything was fuzzy and unclear. She pops the lenses out, then slides the glasses on and turns to look at her reflection again, looking like a miniature version of her brother. She smiles crookedly, then takes off, getting back to her search for her brother.

 

 

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

 

She should have landed an hour ago.

 

Why did she think flying in a storm was a good idea?

 

Pidge squints, trying to see through the dense rain and struggling to keep the balloon on course—she’s already been derailed three times due to the strong winds, and her arms were straining to keep the wheel in place. The storm started out at a light drizzle, but it turned into a giant thunderstorm in the blink of an eye. It was getting windier and darker by the minute—she wasn’t sure how she was going to navigate through this storm in one piece.

 

She tries to glance around for a place to land, trying to figure out just _how_ she’s going to land a hot air balloon in 30 mph wind. If she releases some of the air from the balloon, she’d get lowered to the ground, but she might crash into a tree—or someone’s house—but it’s getting too dangerous to stay airborne in this weather. _Next time I’m building a plane._

 

A strong gust blows by, pushing the rudder back and yanking the steering wheel out of Pidge’s hand. The balloon starts spiraling, going wherever the wind decides to take it. She curses, trying to regain control, but the wind picks up and nearly blows her out of the basket. She grips onto the basket for dear life, tucking her wings flat against her back as she carefully climbs back in and ties herself in with a spare piece of rope.

 

Once she’s sure she’s secured in properly, she sighs heavily and glances up just in time to see the balloon heading straight for a cliff. Her eyes widen, and she curses again, reaching and desperately trying to steer the balloon away but the wind was too strong.

 

The only thing Pidge can do now was brace for impact. 

 

She ducks down and wraps her arms above her head, closing her eyes tight as her wings cover herself right as the balloon crashes into the cliff. She hears the motor break and the envelope tear as the basket starts to fall towards the ground.

 

Pidge’s wings bristle out, reaching up and gripping onto the basket for dear life as she plummets to the ground for the second time in her short life.

 

_No_

_Not again._

 

She screams as she falls—falling for what seems like hours and seconds all at once.

 

The basket hits the ground with a loud crash, the whicker breaking and Pidge falling hard, hitting her head against the gas can with a loud crack. She groans, her vision fading to black at the edges as she fights to stay awake.

 

The last thing she sees is the rain coming down harder before passing out.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Pidge wakes up with a splitting headache and aching all over. She groans, slowly sitting up and looking around to see where she landed. Gently cradling her head, she moves the broken piece of whicker off from on top of her, then looks around for any noticeable landmarks. Tan rocks and outcroppings surround her, reaching high into the sky.

 

Great.

 

She landed in a ravine.

 

Or some sort of canyon.

 

Great.

 

She totally wanted to land in a canyon.

 

Right?

 

She groans again and pinches the bridge of her nose, slowly getting up and looking at her things scattered around the crash site. She ignores the feeling of dread sinking down into her chest as she inspects herself for damage; a small scabbed over cut on the back of her head, minor cuts and bruises along her sides, arms, legs, and back—and a knot on her wing—but otherwise she’s unharmed. She lets out a little sigh of relief, glad that she didn’t seem to break anything.

 

She slowly starts gathering her things, picking up her backpack and rummaging through it until she finds her first aid kit and a water bottle. She takes some ibuprofen for her headache, then starts patching up the minor scrapes and cuts that she could see.

 

Once she’s all patched up, she finishes gathering all of her things and puts them in a pile, then glances over at her wrecked hot air balloon and sighs heavily. Carefully stepping over the debris, she inspects the motor and burners to see how bad the damage was. There’s a crack in the burner that oil is leaking out of, and motor is flooded—add those to the rips in the envelope and broken basket, and Pidge won’t be flying anytime soon.

 

She groans and runs her hand down her face, trying to think of what to do now—should she try to fix up the balloon to fly out, walk down the canyon in the hopes of finding a trail out, or scale the cliff side to get out? She could try to fix the balloon, but she didn’t even know if she had all the parts necessary to fix a cracked burner. The safest option would be to walk along the edge of the canyon to try to find a trail or path that lead out, but that could take days—or weeks—and the longer it takes to get out, the longer Matt and Shiro will go missing. Every second counts when it comes to looking for missing persons—and she’s already wasted a month at home.

 

Guess the only option left is climbing the walls.

 

Pidge packs as much as she can into her bag, having to leave some of her heavier things behind as she slings her backpack on. She walks up to the canyon wall, looking up at the ledge high above, determined to make it to the top.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Damn it!” Pidge yells, frustration tinted in her voice as she stands up, rubbing her sore rear and glaring at the canyon wall. She’s been trying all day to climb out, but she hasn’t been able to make it halfway before falling back down—if the rock didn’t crumble so much, climbing it would be easier. Although, the heavy pack on her back didn’t help either.

 

She brushes the dirt off of her shorts and hands, wincing as she aggravates the new cuts along her palm and fingers. She frowns, then quickly shakes her hands to brush off the pain before making another attempt to climb up.

 

“Well _owl_ be damned—look what the storm blew in.” Pidge looks around for the source of the voice, eyes zeroing in on someone standing on the edge of the canyon and looking down at her. She narrows her eyes, trying to figure out what kind of avian the guy is. The guy was practically a beanpole—lots of long limbs and seemed to be almost completely legs, and his wings had a blueish-gray tint to them. _Must be some kind of blue heron._

 

The great blue heron smirks, perched on top of the canyon and precariously leaning over the edge. “Hey! Whatcha’ doing down there?!”

 

Pidge debates speaking up—wanting to insist that she can get out of this canyon by herself, but she’s been trying for hours to climb the steep walls and she was starting to run low on food. Surely, accepting help to get out wouldn’t be the worst thing….

 

 

 Before she can answer, a snow owl peeks over the edge, eyes widening as he spots Pidge hanging on the edge of the canyon wall. “Oh my—Hey!” The snow owl calls down, wings flickering behind him nervously. “Are you okay?!” He calls down, then looks back over to his companion. “Lance, we gotta go help them!”  

 

Well, guess she doesn’t have to outright ask for help now.

 

The heron—Lance—flairs out his wings and flicks his wrist before smiling over at Hunk, bumping their wings together. “Alright—then we’ll be on our way.” He steps off of the cliff, wings flaring out and catching on an air drift, gliding down into the canyon. The snow owl flaps his gigantic wings to get air born, then follows after his companion as they glide towards the canyon floor.

 

Pidge takes a few steps back from the canyon wall, wiping the sweat off her brow as the pair of strangers land beside her. She raises an eyebrow slightly, eyes quickly scanning their appearance once they landed. The heron was tall and skinny, with short brown hair that curled slightly and bright blue eyes that contrasted against his caramel-colored skin. His wings arch out behind him, showcasing his blue-tinted feathers as they fluttered out. The snow owl was tall too, but had a broader chest and strong-looking arms, his skin was perhaps a shade darker than the heron, but his brown eyes were just as bright, filled with warmth and kindness. He kept his wings tucked in closer to himself but arched out slightly behind him, a few brown spots scattered along his otherwise spotless white feathers.

 

The heron walks over towards Pidge, a bright smile on his face. “Hey there! The name’s Lance, the snow owl with me is my best buddy Hunk. Who are you?”

 

Pidge narrows her eyes slightly as she takes in the pair, tucking her wings against her back and wondering just how truthful she could be with them—could she tell them about her brother and friends? Should she even tell them her real name? _Probably not._ “I’m Pidge.”

 

Hunk smiles, walking over and offering Pidge his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Hunk. Need a hand flying out of the canyon? There’s a strong downward draft in his area so it can be tricky to fly out if you don’t know the area.”

 

Pidge takes Hunk’s hand, then smiles nervously as she shifts her weight from foot to foot, her wings nervously twitching behind her back. “Uh…. I can’t fly.”

 

Lance’s eyes widen a bit, looing Pidge over quickly. “Why? Are your wings broken? Got a muscle cramp? Pulled a muscle?”

 

Pidge frowns and shakes her head, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms across her chest, letting out a huff. “No. I just can’t fly.”

 

The two Avians look at each other for a few seconds, before the tall heron tilts his head and drawls out, “Sooooo, you can’t fly at all?”

 

Pidge frowns, wings bristling out behind her as she glares daggers at Lance. “No.”

 

Lance cracks a smile and a laugh spills out before Hunk reaches out and covers his mouth, shooting a glare at his friends. They seem to communicate silently with eye contact and the occasional eyebrow raise and head tilt. Lance rolls his eyes as Hunk raises his eyebrows, frowning a bit before taking his hand off Lance’s mouth and nudging his side.

 

Lance takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, leaning in closer to Pidge. “Why not?”

 

Pidge glances away, her wings folding tightly against her back. “That’s not your business.”

 

Lance looks over at Hunk, throwing a hand up and tilting his head towards Hunk. Hunk smiles softly, walking over and patting Lance’s shoulder to help calm him down. “Sorry for my buddy—he’s very nosy. Where are you heading to, anyway?”

 

She narrows her eyes, starting to get suspicious of the pair standing in front of her. Why did they have so many questions? Why did they even bother to stop to talk to her anyway? She quickly looks Lance and Hunk over, not seeing them as any sort of threat. _At least not yet…better not tell them everything._ “I’m heading to Balmara for some of their crystals. My ship crashed in the storm last night and I got stranded in this canyon.”

 

Hunk smiles widely, reaching out and patting Pidge’s shoulder. “Hey, Balmara isn’t that far from here—probably two or three days flight. We can easily show you the way there.” Hunk looks over at Lance, warm eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. “What do you think, Lance?”

 

Lance raises an eyebrow, looking over at the massive snow owl. “You sure buddy? If we do, we’ll miss seeing your dad—you’ll have to wait until next year.”

 

The snow owl—Hunk (don’t know if that’s his real name, or a nickname)—frowns and smacks Lance’s shoulder, “He can wait—besides, the flight to Balmara is more pleasant and I don’t feel like flying that close to the arctic circle, thank you.” Hunk crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Besides, Balmara is right along the ocean—which you were just complaining about missing not even two hours ago.”  

 

Lance frowns, his wings folding in close to his side as he thinks, rolling his neck and tapping his foot as he thinks. After a few seconds he groans, running a hand down his face, before looking over at Pidge and smiling. “Alright—but you’re gonna have to learn how to fly.”

 

Pidge frowns, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head slightly. “Who says I need your help?”

 

Hunk blinks, then glances over at the wreckage a few feet away, then shifts his gaze to the canyon wall before looking back at Pidge. “Uh…maybe because of the wrecked hot air balloon ten feet away and the twenty-five-foot cliffs surrounding us?”

 

Pidge spares a quick glance towards the wreckage, then looks at her giant duffle bag before letting out a heavy sigh, her wings drooping behind her. “…I guess. So…” she glances up at Hunk and Lance, smiling sheepishly, “can I get some help getting out of this canyon?”

 

Lance smiles crookedly, walking over and resting his arm on Pidge’s head. “ _Owl_ right. We’ll help ya out. And we’ll even teach you how to fly.” He leans down and pokes at Pidge’s arms, frowning a bit. “But before you even _try_ to learn to fly, we’ll have to build up your muscle mass.”

 

Hunk and Pidge groan, Hunk running a hand down his face at Lance’s bad pun. “Let’s get out of his canyon first—I can’t deal with the heat of the sun _and_ your bad puns at the same time.”

 

Lance gasps, putting his hand on his chest. “Offence! My puns are amazing! Don’t you think so, Pidge?”

 

“I have to agree with Hunk, they’re pretty bad.” Pidge couldn’t help but smile crookedly as Lance somehow manages to look even more offended, wings flaring out behind him before he crosses his arms.

 

Hunk rolls his eyes, patting Lance’s shoulder and shaking his head. “C’mon, I’ll carry Pidge if you carry the bag.”

 

Lance smiles crookedly and nods, walking over to Pidge’s bag and picking it up, groaning when he felt how heavy it was. “Holy Crow—what do you even have in here?”

 

Pidge smiles crookedly as Hunk picks her up. “Just necessary travel essentials—clothes, food, tool kit, map, compass, parts for my robot—the usual.”

 

Hunk’s eyes light up slightly, smiling down at Pidge. “You’re into robotics too?”

 

Pidge smiles widely and nods, a warm feeling growing in her chest for the first time in over a month; happiness. “Yeah, my brother got me into it—been obsessed with it ever since.”

 

Hunk smiles, flapping his wings and taking off. “We’ll get along just fine then.”

 

Pidge couldn’t help but smile despite her rough start to the day. Not only did she find out she wasn’t too far from Balmara—her starting point to look for Matt—but she managed to meet people along the way.

 

Maybe even new friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, lettme know what ya think. (Critiques, suggestions, constructive criticism always appreciated)
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mammahen) for updates on my writing or to just scream at me about Voltron

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/Kudos/Constructive criticism/tips always appreciated! (seriously, can't improve w/o knowing what ya need to work on, and comments always make my day) 
> 
> Feel free to follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mammahen) for updates on my writing (or to chat about Voltron) and if you want you can [Buy Me a Coffee](https://ko-fi.com/A06428HX)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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